New Wave Outpost Forum

How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 1:56 pm

by MissingPersons

My guess is, because lead singer's former band (The Drivers) were New Wave. But apart from this, I don't see any New Wave elements in their music. They sounded more like Richard Marx or Toto from the Fahrenheit/The Seventh One era or Bad English.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:39 pm

by WoodlandParkPunk

I agree. But it seems like all pop bands in the 80's get lumped into either new wave, hair metal or rap.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:25 am

by MissingPersons

What I find bizarre is, how John Waite isn't labeled as New Wave. Sure his music was more like Soft Rock/AOR...but he had the looks of some New Wave singer.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:07 pm

by CanzetYote

I think Cutting Crew is more AOR than New Wave.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:18 pm

by WoodlandParkPunk

I believe and I could be wrong but one of the guys in the Cutting Crew was in a very early Iron Maiden lineup

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 5:10 am

by MissingPersons

CanzetYote wrote:I think Cutting Crew is more AOR than New Wave.

Exactly. Died In Your Arms, I've Been In Love Before, and Any Color are AOR classics. Broadcast or Sahara on the other hand, would be Soft Rock. Don't see any New Wave influences at all.

WoodlandParkPunk wrote:I believe and I could be wrong but one of the guys in the Cutting Crew was in a very early Iron Maiden lineup

Sure not Nick Van Eede or Kevin MacMichael.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 2:39 pm

by Angstytimelord

I think it's more the era they first became famous in than anything else that labels them "new wave." People called 'til tuesday "new wave" back in the 80s, too, but they were a pop group, plain and simple. Same for a-ha. And Crowded House is another band that I think was a Top 40 pop group (which is not a bad thing! I love pop music!) who were labeled "new wave" just because Neil Finn was once in Split Enz.

But in the end, no matter what label people choose to put on a band, it all comes back to pop music, doesn't it? I mean, what were the Beatles but a pop band? There are too many people who think the words "pop music" are some kind of phrase from the deep dark depths of hell. There's a reason that pop music has been around for so long. It's carefree. It's fun. People enjoy it. And being labeled as a "pop band" is NOT some horrible insult. After all, "pop" is the shortened version of "popular." And I'm sure that no band wants to toil in obscurity. Being popular (but not selling out!) is always the goal.

Sorry. I kind of tend to get on a bit of a soapbox about that.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 6:34 pm

by MissingPersons

Another reason might be the vocals. Cutting Crew's Nick Van Eede was never the other Steve Perry or Jimi Jamison.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 3:33 pm

by tha_farfetch

Angstytimelord wrote:I think it's more the era they first became famous in than anything else that labels them "new wave." People called 'til tuesday "new wave" back in the 80s, too, but they were a pop group, plain and simple. Same for a-ha. And Crowded House is another band that I think was a Top 40 pop group (which is not a bad thing! I love pop music!) who were labeled "new wave" just because Neil Finn was once in Split Enz.

But in the end, no matter what label people choose to put on a band, it all comes back to pop music, doesn't it? I mean, what were the Beatles but a pop band? There are too many people who think the words "pop music" are some kind of phrase from the deep dark depths of hell. There's a reason that pop music has been around for so long. It's carefree. It's fun. People enjoy it. And being labeled as a "pop band" is NOT some horrible insult. After all, "pop" is the shortened version of "popular." And I'm sure that no band wants to toil in obscurity. Being popular (but not selling out!) is always the goal.

Sorry. I kind of tend to get on a bit of a soapbox about that.

There's a difference between 'Til Tuesday's debut album and the following albums, it's not just the synths, music but the appearance, haircut, clothes. Gathering all this facts, you can tell 'Til Tuesday's debut album is definitely New Wave, same happens to "Hunting High and Low" by A-Ha. I agree with you regarding Crowded House.

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 10:42 am

by f650gsd

About as new wave as Honeymoon Suite... who are as new wave as Bon Jovi

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 6:15 pm

by bpdp3

For me, cutting crew were just too late in the game to be called new wave...for ME. Same with Til Tuesday for that matter, but I won't argue the point. It's a game of inches. I think information society are new wave..IF they'd arrived seven years sooner!

Certainly cutting crew (and til tuesday) were some sort of by-product of new wave? Would those acts have existed without the template of 'new wave'? I think of early records by the church as new wave...but by the time you get to "under the Milky Way" you're somewhere else entirely. And I'm not so sure that "Milky way" and "died in your arms" are all THAT far removed from each other.

Interesting (but impossible to resolve) topics, missing persons!!

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 12:46 am

by MissingPersons

Hey, thanks!

Anyway, for me The Church were never New Wave. They were more or less the Australian R.E.M...well for me, at least. As for Information Society, they were labeled as "Freestyle". Which is true if you listen to "Running".

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 5:15 am

by bpdp3

'Running' was indeed popular with the Latin freestyle fans; sounds very similar in tone to Noel (think 'silent morning' or 'child at play'). Their other songs (like "pure energy" or "walking away") were more synth pop sounding (and with more production).

When I used to post here in the early 2000's I remember arguing that if the freestyle in the late 80s had used angsty, white British singers, it would basically be Depeche Mode!!

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 10:04 am

by MissingPersons

How about bands like Camouflage and When In Rome who came after the Synth-Pop fad was gone? Weren't they Synth-Pop?

Re: How Cutting Crew are "New Wave"?

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:30 am

by MarcD

MissingPersons wrote:How about bands like Camouflage and When In Rome who came after the Synth-Pop fad was gone? Weren't they Synth-Pop?

love, love, love "We Are Lovers". What a song. I put that on and crank it thru my Klipsches. That's good music. Also like Camouflage's 80s stuff.

As for Cutting Crew, "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" is New Wave, can't be denied.

Maybe the band itself is more soft rock but they definitely have some pure NW songs. I take it on a song-by-song basis with bands like Cutting Crew. But if pressed I would say yes they are a NW band.